LIFE WITH BIG BROTHER

Police could use radio waves to bring cars to a halt

(New Scientist) Imagine you could disable a car remotely just by pressing a button. It’s not a distant dream: devices that use radio waves to disrupt the control computers of modern cars are already in the pipeline. Police will be able to use them to halt suspect vehicles in their tracks.

At the request of police in France, Spain and Germany, a European Commission-funded consortium is developing such a device. Meanwhile, electronics firm E2V of Chelmsford, UK, is developing a similar system for both the police and the military, and successfully tested its technology last week.